Twenty one years ago Familia Records gave us what I'd say is both an underrated rap group and album. The Sickos hit the streets at a bustling time for Chicano Rap - the end of decade, century and millennium were upon us. At this juncture San Diego was teeming with talent. Tensions were high with its artists. Now, this release has a very interesting history considering all the events that led up to the final product. If you're not familiar with what I'm hinting at, let me elaborate. If you own the Familia Records re-print of "Crazy Life", you'll notice that on the upper left corner of the back panel is add in yellow print. The line up for this group would have consisted of Mr. Lil One and Lil Rob as The Sickos. As Mexicali Slim himself said: "This would have been the biggest album in Chicano Rap history just off the cover art alone.".
Accordingly, the cover was supposed to be both of them in the same picture. As misfortune would creep, the studio that was editing this went out of business leaving that photo to never see the light of day. During the interview with Tony A (fast forward to 1:32:30), Murry elaborated on the would-be album, explaining that he had came down to the "Q" to watch a Raiders vs. Chargers game and was supposed to pick up the tape from Lil One. Well, a young Reyes Solis thought it would be a good idea to leave the masters in an envelope, taped to the doorknob. Yes. You read that right. Consequently some fucking opportunistic asshole tore open the envelope to get the masters and, by default, the only copy in existence of a duo that will never be heard on record ever again. This is just me speculating - but I think at this point Lil Rob had departed from Familia Records, and out of discontent and no contractual obligation, didn't have to finish the project.
By 1999, Gelo had already dropped an EP & a full album (of which I haven't had the pleasure of listening to yet). Our boy Murry brushed over how Lil One and Gelo clique'd up (so if any of you are reading this, please elaborate on this next time you're invited to Roadium Radio, goddamn it! The long-time fans wanna know!). Visually striking is the cover art designed by Mark Vasquez (the man behind all the unique art from Familia Records): a jester with a maniacal smile puppeteering two bodies which I assume are the Gelo and Lil One. As Murry himself admitted, he forgot to add the track listing! Or as he advertised for it in another project, the album was so sick I didn't have a track list.
As you now know, I prefer albums with around a dozen tracks, just makes for an easy listen and limits the bullshit skits that become filler. With that said, this album stands at a perfect 11 songs, with a short intro where Gelo's voice creeps into a melodic tone with a play on the classic nursery rhyme heard on Wes Craven's film "Nightmare On Elm Street". Gotta give it up to Lil One's implementation of horror cinema scores in his music. Not the first or last time we hear this. I'm a sucker for funk samples and dig how One Way's "Pop What You Got" was utilized for "Here In Dago" (or "Lil & G Lo" as is printed on the track list). By far my favorite song from the group and in my top 10 Lil One songs ever. You can feel the energy in this jam, the lyricism and tongue twisters solidify this track. I'm actually surprised this song hasn't wound up in any of his best-of or greatest hits compilations. Moving on to the third track, we got a delightful sample of another classic embedded in "Coming Over Tonight". While not the first to incorporate elements from "Genius Of Love", this song makes good use of it. Shots are fired at Mad Man in the rhyme, "the fool is in a chair/ and no it ain't fair/ better aware of the face that you're scared, relying on the cops, I thought you was a G/ you hypocrite bitch do you remember me". A cheap shot at him being differently abled. But during the beef, I guess all was fair. Also adds to the story that Knightowl has shared about the pedo he had with the Tribe and Mad Man. Gelo absolutely steals the show with that god given deep bass in his voice, it encapsulates the entirety of the song. He mentions he's "made more enemies from my CD's and tapes than I did when I was banging/ I guess they don't like what I'm sayin'". Circling back to the EP and full album I haven't had the pleasure of playing in my ride.
VMF was killing it on the beats. The self titled ("The Sickos") song has gotten better over the years and continues to grow on me. Gelo rips the track apart on the end of his first verse, "I keep my strap just in case this rapper life don't fly/ it'll be like me in dreams of me getting high/ in the East of my city with a vest and a nine flippin' rhymes still striving in the West" - the execution was superb. Not to mention that catchy hook ("S-I-C-K-Ohhhhhhhhhh"). The part of that stood the most from Mr. Lil One's verse was where he rapped: "the feds got ahold of me/ pigs were patrolling me/ lost every single damn thing that belong to me/ had to be a tragedy/ still, I got a strategy/ and Satan must'a had to be to ever try and rat on me". But what ties this song together is something a little more subtle. The synchronization of the choir humming in the background was the icing on the cake. Now, circling back to the aforementioned use of cinema scores incorporated into the essence of the song, we get to listen to the sounds of the iconic shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Psycho" all throughout "Ghetto Bird" (or as it's listed on iTunes: "It's About To Go Down"). First, I want to acknowledge that - yes - this is both a reference and a sample of Ice Cube's song of the same name. I've been on the fence about this song, there's times when I think it's great and others when I don't know what to make of it. I love the "Funky Worm" synth. I think the concept of the horror sound effects sounds good on paper, but the execution was something else. Some times I think they mesh well and others I think they mix like oil and water. Regardless of the instrumental, the southeast duo delivers.
At this point we are halfway through the album. Gelo's voice is charismatic as well as engaging from the moment his vocals intertwine with the beat. I am not one hundred percent certain if he doubles up his vocals for that extra depth or if it's ad libs. Maybe it's just the rhyme scheme Gelo executes with precision, take his first verse on "Alone In The Dark" ("Waiting For You" on iTunes). The pace of delivery made me think he could go on rhyming nonstop if it wasn't for the chorus. Lil One knows how to make every breath count with every syllable spoken on beat. With the energy shifting to a more melodramatic tone on "I Remember", the vibe does a complete 180 degrees. Themes of desperation and a chorus about disillusionment riddle this track. The song isn't something I play all that often. To its credit, it probably is one of the most honest songs out there, though. Moving on, "Where Are You?" ("I Am Here" on iTunes) was never on rotation when I first downloaded the album over a decade ago. Going back in and trying to be as objective as possible, I'm hearing it with different ears. As always, Lil One is a precise wordsmith with a knack for making raps, take for instance the line: "it's obvious what my hobby is, and the audience always wanna know if Lil One tell'em where the body is". It's something I noticed that both Gelo and Lil One do throughout the entire album, rather than rhyming at the end of a sentence they have what's called a mono-rhyme (where the entire stanza ends with the same rhyme for that extra effect). My only critique of this song is the chorus: it sounds lackluster, lethargic and lazy. Best redeeming quality is the rhyme implementation and the instrumental, in that order.
As the ninth track ("Who Is It" otherwise listed as "Who Dis" on iTunes) creeps in, I'm already disengaged from the record. I played the song twice it thrice to be as impartial as possible. Weighing down my judgment, I concluded that it's the instrumental that is too boring. The vocals are fine, their verses are solid, it's just the piecing together with a dull instrumental that undermines the rest of the track. The following tune ("No Doubt", or as the Internet has it "Fuckin With Ours") has a captivating synthesizer accompanied by Gelo's high powered verbal assault (I'm amazed a commanding voice comes from a such a slim frame). Lil One's verse didn't quite hit as hard as Gelo's this time around. I gave "Knock Knock" (also known as "How Many") a thorough listen and was surprised how much better the song is than I originally thought. It's the last song and it ends the album better than the latter half began. Both emcees kill it, Gelo's first verse sounds like he doubled up his vocals (or maybe his voice carries that much baritone alone), not to mention his singing isn't bad at all. Uno's tongue twister stays on point with the keys played in the instrumental (which sounds a hell of a lot like the ones played on Shadow's "Evil Deedz" or "My Krime Payz"). It's still not my favorite song but it does stand out from the last quarter set of songs on here.
In hindsight, the original concept of the album was never meant to be: the studio editing the original photo went under, the theft of the original masters, and Rob leaving the label put the nail on the coffin. After hearing the chemistry of this incarnation of the group, I don't know if that would have been there with Lil Rob and Mr. Lil One as was originally intended. I was quite pleased with the final product, Lil' and Gelo's styles compliment each other's. In my honest opinion, the first half of the record is fire, the second is not as dynamic as the first. It starts with a bang and slowly fizzles out as the album concludes. The play time runs at a short 37:26 so it makes for an easy short trip. One of my pet peeves with regards to the track list is the different names that reflect online. There's classic material on here and definitely worth listening. If you can find it, grab it. As the genre's physical copies becomes increasingly difficult to attain, chances are you won't find it again if you pass up on it. Give it a listen and tell me what you think.
01. Intro
02. Lil & G Lo
03. Coming Over Tonight
04. The Sickos
05. It's About To Go Down
06. Waiting For You
07. I Remember
08. I Am Here
09. Who Dis
10. Fuckin With Ours
11. How Many
